Austerity in London’s local authorities

Leonie Cooper: The Institute for Fiscal Studies has highlighted the consequences of Government cuts to local authorities. What impact are Londoners seeing as a result of these cuts?

The Mayor: Public services in England have been stretched to the limit following a decade of austerity, forcing local authorities to cut essential services including libraries (£400m) and sports facilities (£71m) and leaving social care with a £1bn funding gap. London has had to shoulder a third of these cuts meaning that by 2020 councils in London will have suffered a reduction in funding of 63 per cent (£4bn). This has consequences.
In the last few years, local authorities in London have reduced expenditure on services for young people by £126m, closed 81 youth centres or projects and 800 full-time posts have been lost.
This reduction in funding has also affected boroughs’ local welfare assistance schemes which provide emergency support to vulnerable Londoners. In 2017-18, five London boroughs were forced to end this support altogether.
And there have been knock-on effects for civil society organisations. For example, Citizens Advice’s budget reduced by £33m (18.5%) in the first three years of austerity because of cuts to legal aid and local authority budgets.

European Parliament elections

Andrew Dismore: Many EU nationals living in London were denied their vote in the recent European Parliament elections, due to additional bureaucracy imposed by the government with inadequate publicity and insufficient time allowed for compliance; also many UK nationals living abroad did not receive their postal votes in time for them to return them before polling day. What advice do you give these disenfranchised voters; and what do you think the consequences are?

The Mayor: It is a scandal that EU citizens and British nationals living abroad were denied a vote. I raised concerns in April that EU citizens could be shut out of the European elections as a result of the government’s mismanagement of the democratic process.
The Government response, that EU nationals resident in Britain could vote in European Parliament elections in their countries of origin when London is their home, has only added insult to injury. Civic participation is a key pillar of social integration, and EU Londoners must be able to exercise their right to vote.
I believe there should be an inquiry into this mass disenfranchisement. The Government should also move urgently to confirm the voting rights of all eligible EU citizens beyond 2019. It is not acceptable that EU Londoners are facing taxation without representation from 2020.

Autism (10)

Andrew Boff: What are the Mayor’s plans to make London a more autism friendly city?

The Mayor: A range of initiatives across City Hall are contributing to making London a more autism-friendly city.
My draft London Plan; Transport Strategy; and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy promote inclusive design, fundamental to creating public spaces which those with autism can access confidently. TfL is examining barriers to travelling for neuro-diverse customers by piloting a Design for the Mind audit of Euston Station. Our work on creating a Dementia-Friendly London, including improved signage, also benefits those on the autistic spectrum.
The Healthy Schools London Awards require schools to meet the needs of disabled children including provision for pupils on the autistic spectrum.
The Young Londoner’s Fund and Team London’s grants support projects helping young people with on the autistic spectrum to increase independence at home, at school and in their communities. The Sycamore Trust in Havering said mayoral funding gave their organisation a new lease of life after local cuts forced them to significantly reduce their provision.